A culinary fairytale

MENDO talked and tasted with Aska’s star-chef Fredrik Berselius

Fredrik Berselius - photo by Jermain Cikic

Aska’s chef Fredrik Berselius was born in Sweden, but has managed to conquer the highly competitive New York restaurant scene with two Michelin Stars within a year after its reopening. Now he has made a book with Phaidon and came to Amsterdam to cook with Joris Bijdendijk. MENDO was there.

With absolute precision, style, and something that’s floating in the middle of an Scandi-British accent, star-chef Fredrik Berselius has an enviable way of moving through a conversation. One could say it’s very similar to his way of working: using just enough and exactly the right amount of what he needs.

As arguably the worst chef in the Western hemisphere, I spoke with Fredrik on a sunny Friday morning under the facade of the Rijksmuseum. His book, Aska, came out only a week ago and to celebrate this, Fredrik and his team pass three restaurants in Europe to show why the Williamsburg restaurant earned two Michelin stars within a year.

A day later, Fredrik would be joining RIJKS® chef Joris Bijdendijk to prepare an exclusive collaborative lunch and dinner. With preparations in full swing, he found time to sit with us in the garden of the Museum’s restaurant.

The book is wonderfully made. Together with Phaidon, Fredrik created a document that not only allows people to recreate, or draw inspiration from recipes, but also tells the story of nearly every aspect of his life in New York and his restaurant Aska. It seems different from a lot of other cookbooks, as it doesn’t limit itself to life behind the stove, but encompasses life in general and can even be interesting for someone like me.

“There are recipes that can be made by you at home, but some might need some tweaking. Anything from a small langoustine tail to some burned herbs. Or simple kohlrabi and linden flower snacks and some crispy seaweed should definitely be manageable. Although, to me it’s more an inspirational book than just something you should use to copy recipes from. I have tons of cookbooks myself and I wanted this book to be written the way I use my cookbooks. I can imagine myself using a cookbook for baking bread, but other than that, I want a book to inspire me.”

In this photo

One of Fredrik's dishes from the special menu created with RIJKS' Joris Bijdendijk. Images by MENDO's Roy Rietstap.

The Aska book takes a dive into the deep sea of Fredrik’s mind. The sea that connects his home, Sweden, and New York, which has been his home for nearly two decades now.

“The restaurant is a very personal thing for me. Food and cooking in particular, became a way for me to live in New York, which I love, but also to keep a connection with where I was from. Cooking became a way to recreate the moments in my life that are special to me and that’s what we’ve tried to do with the book as well. It can be anything, from early spring with the greenery that can suddenly hit, to the cold winters in the north of Sweden. With food, I can somehow find a way to recreate these special moments. Not to make it more than it is, but people tend to forget that New York has incredibly diverse nature that’s very similar to the place where I grew up in Sweden. So we use simple ingredients like onions, cabbages, wildflowers that remind me of home and we try to use those in the most delicious way we can think of.”

‘Cooking became a way for me to keep a connection with where I’m from.’

‘Cooking became a way for me to keep a connection with where I’m from.’

Fredrik Berselius - Aska

That knowledge is based on a lot of experience in New York. Even though it’s incredibly hard to believe he’s 39 years old (Fredrik is an avid cyclist), he has been living in New York for nearly two decades already.

“I didn’t think I was young at the time, but now looking back, I completely understand why my mom did not allow me to go at first. I was just very curious, and hopefully somewhat responsible as well. I just had this uncontrollable urge to leave Stockholm. Of course, I was young and it wasn’t always easy, but the possibilities seemed endless and I instantly fell in love with that.”

Eventually love is what really kept him in New York. Love for New York City, then love for a girl and eventually their shared love for the nature in upstate New York is what kept him there.

“When I decided that I wanted to cook, I relatively quickly established a philosophy for myself on how I wanted to do this. The only way to do that for me, was to open my own restaurant.”

That mission was soon accomplished, as he opened a pop-up restaurant with Richard Kuo named Frej. The name of Frej, which closed its doors quickly, is derived from the name of the Norse God of Fertility who eventually gets killed by a fire. This analogy and the “killing” of the restaurant eventually became the fertile ground for Aska to thrive.

Fredrik’s team joined forces with Joris Bijdendijk (RIJKS) to create a special menu. "It’s exciting, we’ve been preparing for months."

“Aska means ashes. And it’s both a way of playing with this metaphor, but also in a way of appreciating the fertile energy that lies underneath. To the eye it’s just a black landscape, but there is so much going on and growing underneath.”

It’s one of the many well-thought phrases Fredrik seems to produce from the top of his mind. His notebook lies before him as he answers questions thoroughly, thought off up until the last detail.

“I like imagining things. Painting pictures and stories in my mind, and we just go from there. I don’t want to make it difficult for our guests to eat our food, but I think what we serve should have a story behind it. That’s also why I wanted to write this book. The stories we can’t tell our guests at the table, can find their way to them with this book.”

With preparations in full swing, Fredrik Berselius found time for a conversation with MENDO's Mikel van den Boogaard.

It’s also a crown on top of already one of the most successful stories in the restaurant world. After closing Aska after a year, Fredrik took a time off to find a new spot, only needing a year to earn two Michelin stars after reopening.

“I felt like we couldn’t grow at the old place, but it took a little longer than I had wanted. We were closed for two-and-a-half years before our reopening, but it never felt like a break. Trying to get the restaurant up and running again was a constant chase. Very different from what I was used to, but I was able to channel the energy that I’ve put in Aska before our closing into our reopening. It shifted my entire life around. I suddenly had opportunities to experiment with breakfast, lunch and dinner at home. And I could cook for my wife and myself. So instead of what you could see as losing my groove, it helped me find new energy.”

‘Fredrik's team blew me away.’

‘Fredrik's team blew me away.’

Roy Rietstap - MENDO

Dishes from the menu created by Fredrik Berselius and Joris Bijdendijk. Photos taken by Roy Rietstap.

That energy was now brought to RIJKS, as Fredrik’s team joined forces with Joris Bijdendijk to create a special menu. MENDO’s Roy Rietstap was one of the lucky ones to have dinner on saturday and described it as a “culinary fairytale”.

“RIJKS is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Amsterdam because of the modest atmosphere. This time Fredrik’s team blew me away. Every course had a surprising element in both taste and presentation. It really felt like the two teams empowered each other to make something great.”

A day before we asked Fredrik about his own expectations.

“It’s exciting, we’ve been preparing for months. The food will be combination of ingredients from New York, and some locally sourced ingredients. That way it’s a synergy that works on multiple levels. A memory of New York, Sweden and Amsterdam combined.”

Aska is the debut cookbook from chef Fredrik Berselius, following the reimagining and rebuilding of his two-Michelin-starred restaurant. Fredrik’s book Aska is made by Phaidon is now available at MENDO.

Highsnobiety is an online publication that covers trends and news in fashion, art, music, and culture. It recently launched its first book. MENDO talked with Highsnobiety’s Editorial Director Jian DeLeon.